I asked my thirteen year old son if he had any stories of a time when he wished some other kids would have shared what they had with him. He said, "Tons of them."
What kid wouldn't.
I was reading in Leviticus today about God's instructions to how offerings should be made, how the priests were to give special attention to what was being offered, and how to present it. Then I read something that literally made me cry.
God is telling about how the grain offering is to be given and eaten by the priests. Half of this grain offering is to be mixed with oil and frankenscence and burned as it belongs to God as "a thing most holy." But the other half, God says that Aaron, the high priest, and all 18 year old male priests can eat it saying, "I have given it as their portion of MY food offerings."
Wow. God shared. Think of it. Our GOD shares ... HIS stuff ... with us ... with me.
So I wondered that since our God is a sharing God, what else does the Word says He shares? And does He share any of His stuff with me? To me, this is huge.
This revelation caused me to cry.
I had a vision--I walked with God through some old memeories. I was back in seminary listening to my professor speak about this passage and I said, "Wait! Does this say our God shares? God actually shares HIS stuff? With me?" And I wept there.
Next, I was like in kindergarten and I saw myself walking out to our elementary playground and a little girl was coloring with chalk on the sidewalk. She looked up to me and said, “Hey! Do you want to come over here and SHARE my chalk?”
In my next vision, I was walking into a seminary cafeteria past a table with one of our foreign student's family sitting together getting ready to eat together. When the dad sees me, he smiles and says, “Hey! Would you want to come over here and SHARE a meal with my family?”
God shares like the little girl. God shares like the family. God was showing ME that He wants to share with me.
I then thought of pentecost and that when the Holy Spirit of God came upon the disciples, what did they do? They were big on SHARING. The word that describes those who share is FELLOWSHIP, which means "to have in common." We cannot have in common unless there we all share. Sharing is a mark of a true disciple because it is a true mark of God.
Sharing is a wonderful attribute of God. It is not listed in any seminary book as one of God's great attributes, but it now stands out to me as one because I have experienced it. Thinking about sharing now makes me smile and love God more.
After all, He shared Jesus --who was His very heart-- with us … with me.
Amen.